Paul Heyman issued the following statement regarding last weekend’s Extreme Reunion event promoted by Shane Douglas:
“I’ve had a ton of people ask me about #ExtremeReunion… and I haven’t said a word about it. Not a word in advance. And certainly nothing to say about it now. I didn’t comment on TNA’s Hardcore Justice in advance, nor after the show, either. Nothing to say about that, either. I chose not to participate in either show, or any other attempt to re-live #ECW, so I don’t feel it would be right 4 me to comment on it.”
“If you’re involved, speak your mind. If you take a pass on something, STFU. Just another voice bitching with the rest. #NotMyStyle I haven’t done any conventions. No shoot tapes. No paid autograph signings. Nothing wrong with ’em. Just #NotMyStyle So … I have kept my mouth shut about #ExtremeReunion. I wasn’t there, so who am I to say anything?”
Heyman also commented news of him working with WWE on the upcoming CM Punk DVD project:
“I was interviewed for the Austin DVD. I’m honored 2b interviewed for the @CMpunk DVD as well”
– Former WCW announcer Mark Madden made headlines over the weekend after recently stating that Paul Heyman has been helping Brock Lesnar with his recent WWE promos. Heyman issued a statement on Twitter on Sunday night denying that he is working with Brock Lesnar in WWE – but Madden is sticking to his story.
Madden responded to Paul Heyman on Monday morning with the following:
“@HeymanHustle helping Brock w/promos absolutely confirmed. He’ll never admit it; not getting paid for it; but it’s true, it’s damn true.”
– A new promotional poster has been released for Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view featuring Brock Lesnar and John Cena:
Former WCW announcer Mark Madden stated during a recent radio interview that Paul Heyman has been helping Brock Lesnar with his recent WWE promos. Heyman has since replied to Madden’s claim – denying that he’s been working with Lesnar:
“@MarkMaddenX As flattered as I am by the notion, I have nothing to do with #BrockLesnar’s @WWE promos. Believe it or not, @WWE got it right … in a BIG way … with that #DeathClutch promo last week on #Raw. I’d love to take even a tiny bit of the credit for that promo, but it all belongs to @WWE and Brock himself!”
– At Saturday night’s UFC 145 post-fight press conference, UFC President Dana White was asked about Brock Lesnar’s recent return to WWE. White stated:
“When he did the deal with the WWE, all the rumblings started with you guys. He never called me. He never told me. He didn’t have to. It was always up front and said in his deal, he could do the WWE. I’m happy for him. To do what he did in the WWE, came here and did what he did, now he’s back over there. Good for him; good for them.
– Paul Heyman has been helping Brock Lesnar’s recent WWE promos, according to Mark Madden on Chairshots Radio. Heyman is working with Lesnar independently and there are no plans for him to work directly with WWE.
– Derrick Bateman’s profile pages have been removed from WWE.com and the Florida Championship Wrestling website, which is usually a sign that the talent has been released. Bateman stated on twitter that his profiles being taken down is “meaningless.” When asked again if he has been released, he replied, “people read into things way to much.”
– The “local talent” that Ryback squashed on Friday’s SmackDown was 18 year old James Hill, who wrestles in the UK as Jimmy Meadows. He told Thisisleicestershire.co.uk that he got booked on RAW through UK veteran wrestler Robbie “The Wildcat” Brookside.
– Joey Styles mentioned on Twitter this week that he’s still hoping to induct Paul Heyman into the WWE Hall of Fame next year.
– Alberto Del Rio wrestled at Wednesday’s live event in Sheffield, England, winning a quick match over Mason Ryan. Live reports that we’ve read stated that it looked like Del Rio was working very “safe” and not taking any risks.
– WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Jim Ross attended the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion show on Wednesday night from Las Vegas last night. Austin was introduced by Jim Ross and received the Iron Mike Award. Ross wrote on Twitter that it was an honor to introduce Austin and that Austin asked him to do it.
Speaking of Austin, he was interviewed for the latest issue of Men’s Fitness Magazine.
Brock Lesnar will be returning to a WWE ring much sooner than some fans may be expecting. Lesnar signed with WWE over the weekend and could wrestle his first match as soon as Extreme Rules later this month or Over The Limit in May. As we’ve been reporting, Lesnar has signed a 1-year deal with limited appearances – which will culminate in a match at next year’s WrestleMania 29.
During Lesnar’s first run with the company a decade ago, Paul Heyman served as Lesnar’s mouthpiece, accurately touting him as the “Next big Thing.” According to WWE sources, there are currently no plans to bring Heyman in with Lesnar. Heyman has is a very busy man with a number of ongoing projects through his Looking For Larry agency based out of New York City.
That’s not to say that there aren’t people that want Heyman back on WWE television. WWE (and TNA) has reached out to him in recent years, but the two sides could never reach an agreement. Anything is possible, but for now, WWE is moving forward with Brock Lesnar under the assumption that Paul Heyman will not be on board.
— With Brock Lesnar heavily rumored to appear at tonight’s WrestleMania XXVIII pay-per-view event, it’s worth noting that friend and business partner Paul Heyman has been telling friends that he is not in Miami, Florida.
— The official Facebook page of WWE has posted photos in and around Sun Life Stadium as tonight’s WrestleMania XXVIII approaches. Among those pictured as Brie Bella, Vickie Guerrero, Santino Marella, Daniel Bryan, Dolph Ziggler, Mike Tyson and the white suit John Laurinaitis will don for the Team Teddy vs. Team Johnny match.
— To update the status of Mark Henry on SmackDown, he has been “suspended indefinitely” after putting his hands on Teddy Long during last week’s show. The suspension is being used to allow Henry time off to deal with various injuries and rest up in time for WrestleMania 28.
– During Saturday night’s UFC 143 pay-per-view, Paul Heyman tweeted to Jim Ross and mentioned Vince McMahon’s dislike for the word “belt” when referring to championship titles. Jim Ross responded with “LOL” to Heyman’s comment:
“@JRsBBQ Can you imagine Vince sitting at home watching #UFC143, losing his mind everytime some1 says “BELT””
– Several fans who watched Sunday night’s NFL SuperBowl game noted that the New York Giants came out to the song “Written In The Stars,” which was the theme song to WrestleMania 27.
– During the half time of the SuperBowl, MTV2 featured the annual Lingerie Football League’s Lingerie Bowl.
The Los Angeles Temptation defeated the Philadelphia Passion – and the Temptation’s quarterback Ashley Salerno was awarded with a replica Attitude-era WWE Championship belt. The belt had their team logo over the WWF logo.
– Speaking of the Lingerie Bowl, several past and present wrestling divas have participated in the event. TNA’s Christy Hemme was in the 2nd and 4th Lingerie Bowl, former WWE Diva Joy Giovanni was in the 2nd and 3rd Lingerie Bowl games, while FCW Diva Summer Rae (Danielle Moinet) played for Chicago in the LFL from 2008-2011.
— Four-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas announced Saturday via video message that “extreme wrestling” is coming back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “The Franchise” is rounding up the band of hardcore misfits for Extreme Reunion, which takes place Saturday, April 28, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at the Pennsylvania National Guard Armory (2700 Southampton Blvd & Roosevelt Blvd) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19154.
An official website has been launched for the event at www.extremereunion.net. PWInsider.com reports that the show is not planned as a one-off event but as part of a larger project.
— Paul Heyman went on Twitter to praise Jim Ross. He wrote, “Greatest announcer ever. And 1 TOUGH mentor. I learned about wrestling and LIFE from JR.”
In a trivia note, Ross indicated Saturday that he almost joined ECW following his dismissal from WWE in 1994. He tweeted Heyman, “but Happy…you never hired Ol JR..could’ve been a contend-a. Do you remember when we discussed me being a ‘surprise?”
Heyman also said he’s high on Chris Jericho. He wrote, “HUGE fan of Chris Jericho, professionally and personally!”
WWE.com has published a video of Paul Heyman recalling Steve Austin’s brief tenure in Extreme Championship Wrestling.
“Steve had two matches in ECW, I wish he had 2000,” Heyman says. “He wrestled Mikey Whipwreck at the November to Remember 1995 for the ECW World Title and he wrestled Mikey Whipwreck and The Sandman in a Three-Way Dance for the ECW World Title in December 1995. I wanted to build ECW around Steve Austin as the World Champion. I even pitched to Steve winning the Title at the November to Remember 1995, but he was such a fan of Mikey Whipwreck, he thought it would be better if Mikey won the match and also, Steve thought it was better for his character.
Heyman continues, “And this is where Steve was so ahead of the game, far ahead of everybody else. Steve thought it was better for his character to lose and bitch about it, cause then he had something else to be angry about. Then he had another reason to push that character all the way to the line, all the way to the wall. And he knew that in losing, he could become a bigger star than if he won the ECW World Title.
“It was just so smart. He was so far ahead of everybody else.”
Paul Heyman interviews “The Baddest Dude on the Planet” Brock Lesnar about THQ’s WWE ’12 video game in a video published Tuesday. His former manager asks, “Did you have a favorite opponent during that run, or a single moment that stands out in your mind?”
Brock responds, “I went through a lot of guys. I went through Ric Flair. I went through Hulk Hogan. I went through Undertaker. But there’s a guy that I didn’t get to go through. There’s a Hall of Famer, there’s a legend that I didn’t get to go through and there’s a guy that felt threatened by me at the time and there was a guy that felt that I had everything given to me.
“And that guy’s “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
“If that’s the match that I wanted to have and I look back and felt robbed by, that’s the one that I would want. That’s the one that sticks out the most in my mind. All these other matches, yeah, they were great. I was on top of the world and I was beating the Hall of Fame legends. I was the first legend killer.”
The interview concludes with Heyman asking Lesnar if he thinks we’ll see him pull off an F-5 anytime soon. He smilingly responds, “I think you can purchase the game and do it all you want.”
Lesnar also discusses Alistair Overeem, maintaining his personal life, being included in WWE ’12, his diet, and more.
– Several fans noted that security confiscated a lot of signs from the audience.
– WWE referred John Laurinaitis as Mr. Future Endeavors for the first time last night at Night of Champions. As previously reported, WWE recently trademarked several variations of the “Mr. Future Endeavors” name – a reference to the statement posted on the company website when talent is released.
– After Beth Phoenix lost to Kelly Kelly in her hometown (Buffalo), there was a huge “bullshit” chant from the crowd for over a minute.
– Paul Heyman wrote the following on Twitter last night after the Night of Champions main event:
“I had to flip from watching Inglourious Basterds to see HHH vs CM Punk. Fill in your own punch line for that one, folks! I thought they (and all the others involved) put on one helluva show. It took 3 Pedigrees and a Jack Knife to beat Punk. I know a lot of people are pissed Punk got pinned, but if you’re going to get beat, isn’t that the way to do it? As with everyone else, it’s all in the follow-up (right, TNA?) … let’s see what they do tomorrow night on #Raw. Hey, I hashtagged #Raw! Ah, it’s only been almost 5 years since I left. Maybe I’ve mellowed just a little. Nah!”
— Rosa Mendes, who has not appeared on WWE programming since SummerSlam, posted her first message on Twitter since August 20 by ranting about fellow SmackDown Diva A.J. The three-year veteran doesn’t feel the Union City native “looks like a WWE Diva.”
She wrote, “But what one thing I don’t miss is looking at rookies that call themselves divas when they can’t get a hold of some proactive to clear their Awful skin up, and start dressing like actual Divas instead of shopping at consignment stores in the kid section. You want to be a Diva? Look like one AJ. You look like a cashier that works at my local grocery store.
“Why you are on the roster boggles my mind!!!!!!!!”
— The official WWE website has ranked Hulk Hogan turning his back on millions of Hulkamaniacs to join Scott Hall and Kevin Nash in forming one of the most infamous groups in history, the New World Order, as No. 1 in their “List This: Legends of the Fall.”
Click here for WWE.com’s recollection of the event.
— Former WWE talent Paul Heyman turns 46 years old today.
Just a few minutes before CM Punk walked out to that amazing crowd response in his hometown of Chicago, Paul Heyman finally broke his silence regarding Punk declaring himself a “Paul Heyman Guy” during that now-legendary promo 20 days ago in which he gave Heyman credit for seeing something in him no one else could see.
On The Heyman Hustle Twitter Page, Heyman finally broke his silence, saying:
“It’s been 20 days since @CMPunk turned the wrestling world and WWE Universe completely upside down w/ his performance.”
“It’s not what @CMPunk, it’s the realism with which his promo was delivered. HE felt it. So did millions of fans, too.”
“@CMPunk is not the voice of the voiceless, he’s the voice of today’s generation!”
“@CMPunk is cool and bad ass, yet he’s a man of principle. He translates to grownups and kids alike.”
— Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer reported yesterday that Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman have either made a deal or at least are in very serious negotiations to have a business relationship with WWE. In the case of Lesnar, it is not to wrestle, nor would he be a television character. Meltzer claims Heyman’s deal is similar to Lesnar’s. Award-winning Canadian mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani stated this afternoon on his Twitter account that Meltzer’s report is somewhat inaccurate. He wrote:
“Meltzer report on Heyman/Brock going 2 WWE, according 2 sources, is somewhat inaccurate. What is being discussed is a consumer product deal.”
— WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels posted a lengthy blog on his Facebook account explaining why he hunts animals. He wrote:
“I recognize that no matter how much love, faith, and factual information I provide there are going to be people who simply will not agree with the lifestyle I have chosen. Personally, it’s that diversity that makes us so great. I would ask that as I respect your right to disagree, you show me the same courtesy. I spent 25 years defending myself and you against the stereotype that we’re all a bunch of “dimwitted toothless rednecks,” what’s the harm against doing it again for another group of people I believe in? And at the end of the day there will still be those who just love to be difficult because…well, just because. To you I say this, my lifestyle is 100% protected by and in accordance with, the laws of this land…in every sense. You wanna challenge me in that? I’ll knock you sox off!!
“And if you’re not down with that…I got two words for ya…”
According to a reliable source in WWE, there was some significance CM Punk mentioning Brock Lesnar, Paul Heyman and Colt Cabana during his shoot promo on RAW – as each of them could be working with WWE again in the coming months.
Heyman and Lesnar have reportedly either made a deal or are at least in very serious negotiations to have a business relationship with WWE. Regarding Lesnar, word is that he won’t be wrestling and won’t be a TV character, should he establish a business relationship with WWE again. Heyman would start working with the company again under a deal similar to Lesnar.
As for Punk’s WWE future, the creative team has been told that he’s finishing up at Money in the Bank and most feel that he is still leaving. During his negotiations with WWE Punk recently asked for his friend Colt Cabana to be re-hired and put on the main roster.
WWE still has an offer on the table, so we shall see.
(Credit to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for some of the info used in this report)
During a recent radio interview with TVTrax, Paul Heyman spoke about how close he came to signing with TNA, what his vision for the company was and more:
Paul Heyman is making headlines today with some controversial remarks about how WWE is handling the career of Nexus leader CM Punk.
Amid reports that CM Punk is unhappy behind the scenes and is considering leaving WWE when his contract expires later this year, Paul Heyman wrote on Twitter (@heymanhustle):
“I’m sure he will get heat for me saying this, but @CMPunk is STILL the most underutilized talent on the WWE roster. And my apologies to @CMPunk for the heat he’ll get, but come on already. Punk is the best heel in the biz today! WAKE THE F**K UP! It’s amazing to me (and not in a good way) that WWE doesn’t see how @CMPunk has brought out the best in every opponent.”
CM Punk caught wind of Paul Heyman’s rant and responded with:
“oh you know me, if I don’t have heat I’m doing something wrong. Keeps me warm.”
WWE Hall of Fame Steve Austin, who has exchanged words with Punk over Twitter in recent weeks, quoted Paul Heyman’s tweet and added, “Agreed.”
COMMENT BELOW and tell us what you think about CM Punk’s lack of push in WWE .. Does Punk have what it takes to be pushed ahead of other top young heels like The Miz and Alberto Del Rio?
Earlier this week, we reported that Paul Heyman is working hands-on with UFC heavyweight fighter Shane Carwin to work on his microphone skills and become more effective at hyping his upcoming fights. Specifically, Heyman is helping UFC produce the UFC 131 Countdown Show that will air on Spike in the weeks leading up to the June 11th pay-per-view.
Shane Carwin has posted a blog on Shane-Carwin.com discussing his experience working with Heyman .. Here’s part of what Carwin wrote:
“Paul arrived the night before [shooting] and we grabbed dinner and he went over his plans and ideas. He said he was given about 12 questions that he was just going to toss out. He wanted to capture me and my thoughts on the fight. The type of questions that he tossed out were ones like “how did you feel when you got the call”.
“The day of the shoot it was pretty much business as usual. I would say the key difference of what Paul brought to the table vs the previous producers is that he understands the entertainment value and ask questions that illicit good responses. I have been called “boring” in the past but the reality is when you are interviewed by people that do not fully understand the sport or how to extract the right information to sell the event. I do not lead interviews so if the media is not sure of how to extract the right information I can come off “boring”. That would be the Heyman difference. Paul was able to let me be me, left the stupid questions out and we got into some good stuff. I think this is going to make for a great Countdown Show.”
In the days following the announcement that UFC heavyweight figher Brock Lesnar has been forced to pull out of his upcoming fight, Lesnar’s close friend Paul Heyman will be working with UFC to promote the upcoming pay-per-view that Lesnar was previously scheduled to headline .
Paul Heyman will be working on the new UFC Countdown series to promote the next month’s UFC 131 show, which will now feature a #1 contenders fight between Junior Dos Santos and Brock Lesnar’s replacement, Shane Carwin.
Heyman, who previously worked with the Strikeforce MMA promotion (now owned by UFC) to promote last year’s EA: MMA video game release, will be working hands on with Shane Carwin to help Carwin’s mic skills.
As much as UFC tries to distance itself from the theatrics of pro wrestling, it is impossible to deny the marketability of a top fighter who can supplement his fight game with effective verbal skills.
At this point, this is just a one-time gig and there are no reports of Paul Heyman working with the UFC on a full-time basis, but this is interesting news nonetheless.
After making a surprise return to WWE television last week as Brock Lesnar’s legal adviser, we can confirm that Paul Heyman is in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for tonight’s RAW and is scripted to appear in a segment.
As previously reported, Paul Heyman will be appearing on WWE television through August as Brock Lesnar’s spokesperson as a way of keeping Lesnar in WWE storylines without using up the limited dates on his contract.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has updated his blog, which you can read in its entirety at JRsBarBQ.com. Here are some highlights of what JR said about:
The Rock vs. John Cena at WM28:
“No…I do not think that @TheRock vs. @JohnCena should happen before Wrestlemania 28. Let’s put that matter to bed. It isn’t going to happen before WM28 in Miami. As comedian Ron White would say, “Let it go.”
“Love how many crystal ball possessing, wrestling creative valedictorians already know that the long range plan for Rock-Cena isn’t a good idea. For you that have this all figured out, can you also provide me some lead pipe cinch, stock tips or the National Champion of College Football winner for the upcoming season?”
Paul Heyman:
“I guess one should never say never, but I never see @HeymanHustle returning to the pro wrestling world on a full time or regular basis. Never. I get asked this question weekly it seems.”
Wrestling Territories – A Thing Of The Past:
“No…wrestling territories are dead and will likely stay that way. The key to a territories success is getting local, strong TV clearances with a slick produced TV show that airs weekly. That isn’t going to happen. It’s not affordable nor does the majority of fans want to see largely unknown wrestlers. Most investors, who haven’t lost their sanity, would never invest in obtaining TV clearances and upgrading TV production values notwithstanding funding a wrestler payroll. Weekly territories are a thing of the past and will never be seen again to the level that they once were or even close.”
“On the flip side, having viable, successful territories did more to develop main event level talents than any thing ever and nothing that can be created in today’s marketplace will ever supplant that concept. New talents can and will be developed but it will have to be in a much different way than back in the territory days where a different audience could be utilized to watch a gambit of wrestlers evolve and learn their craft. Being able to relocate to a variety of territories with differing creative philosophies and audiences/fans helped many wrestlers become stars. “
– Paul Heyman wrote the following on Twitter on Saturday night during UFC 126 regarding Vince McMahon and Brock Lesnar:
“It’s funny. Vince McMahon hated when I called Brock Lesnar “The Next Big Thing!” HATED IT. WANTED ME TO STOP CALLING BROCK THAT NAME! I’ll tell that whole story … and a lot more … in the book this year. Brock comments on it in his book, too. It was a real war to get Vince to let me keep calling Brock “The Next Big Thing!””
– Chris Jericho wrote the following on Twitter last night during the show – which is sure to get a rise out of MMA enthusiasts:
“Ok guess I’m the only “old school pro wrestler” to say it…screw UFC fighters. U could NEVER do what me and my brothers do.”
– Jim Ross was also tweeting during the UFC 126 pay-per-view, writing the following about Anderson Silva’s knockout win over Vitor Belfort in the first round of the main event:
“Good God Almighty what a front kick by Anderson Silva! He’s money. What a post fight promo. Everyone knows Anderson speaks some English. :)”
— Paul Heyman and former WWE star MVP recently met together in New York City. TMZ.com cameras caught up with them, ran the footage of the meeting on their Wednesday episode and mentioned how MVP will be wrestling in Japan soon.
— Prior to Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings from Long Island, New York, local indy wrestler Max Bauer received a tryout against Percy Watson. Bauer has been on WWE’s radar for a while and was recently the champion of North Eastern promotion NECW.
— WWE’s video game publishing partner THQ held its quarterly earnings conference call today and announced that the planned online WWE video game has been dropped. According to Reuters.com, THQ’s earnings were down 11% from the same quarter last year.
— Regarding Paul Heyman, there was no movement this past week in the former ECW creative director joining TNA Wrestling. The feeling among many in the organization is that as long as television ratings hold up, Spike officials won’t feel the need to pressure the organization in bringing him in.
Heyman insists he won’t join the organization without the ability to rebuild the company, and without complete control over marketing, talent and the office, he won’t be able to. TNA president Dixie Carter doesn’t want to give up control of her company not to mention that she bears strong loyalty to certain employees, thus explaining why things remain at a standstill. (source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)
— Today marks Angelina Love’s ten year anniversary in the wrestling business. Regarding this, the TNA Women’s Knockout Champion remarked the following on her Facebook account: “Today marks my 10 year anniversary in the wrestling business!! Yes, a DECADE ago, I worked my 1st show in London, ON. I’m so thankful for, and proud of everything I have accompished, the experiences I have had and the friends I have made. I’ve been very fortunate and look forward to what still lies ahead in my future!!”
